Yesterday I pulled out our Christmas decorations. I had to sort of force myself to do it, because I thought it was a task that would be fraught with bittersweet memories. I was right.
We are a family of traditions. Traditions in our home are easily created and not so easily abandoned. That’s why I often advise people with very young children to think carefully about the traditions they are beginning. They’ll be repeated for a very long time!
Our Christmas decorations reflect some of our not so carefully thought out traditions. For example, there is the musical Christmas carousel that Gram gave us as a novelty when the girls were small. A few years ago, I suggested that maybe we didn’t need to get the carousel out anymore. The look on Emma and Sarah’s faces when I said that let me know that the carousel, complete with its annoying flashing lights and grating mechanical music, was a permanent part of our Christmas tradition.
Then there’s Frank the Lamppost, a tacky, holiday-decorated lamppost with a human face that sways and sings holiday songs in a pseudo Frank Sinatra voice. Sarah spotted this beauty at a drug store around the corner from our home. When she asked if we could buy it, I said absolutely not. That was where I drew the line on tacky. But wouldn’t you know it, Frank was under the tree on Christmas morning in all his kitschy glory, courtesy of Santa Claus. I have often tried to “forget” to get him out. But, he always seems to find his way out of the attic and into our front hall where he can accost our horrified holiday guests. Ah, the miracle of the motion sensor!
The other traditional decorations are Emma’s nutcrackers. Santa brought Emma a new nutcracker every year starting from the time she was 3. The nutcracker would be there Christmas morning. It would not be wrapped and there was never a tag saying for whom it was meant. But Emma always knew it was for her. “I knew it. I knew Santa would bring me another nutcracker,” she would proclaim on Christmas morning. She was as excited about the nutcracker Santa brought her last year as she was about the one she received when she was 3. And yes, you read that right. I said the nutcracker Santa brought her. Emma always had room for magic in her life and no one in our house has ever felt the need to question the identity of the magician who transformed our living room on Christmas morning. Besides, who else besides Santa would bring you Frank the Lamppost?!
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